Air-brake attachment.



No. 772,227. I PATENTED OCT. 11,1904.

D. M. ELDER.

AIR BRAKE ATTACHMENT APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. 1904.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

F0 MODEL.

Inventor Attorney PATENTED OCT. 11, 1904.

D. M. ELDER.

AIR BRAKE ATTACHMENT,

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25. 1904.

2 SHBETSSHEET 2.

NO MODEL.

1 L IIITI DI\ i ill l r V CLOSED Inventor Attorney Patented October 11, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL M. ELDER, OF ELDORADO, KANSAS.

AIR-BRAKE ATTACHMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Nb. 772,227, dated October 11, 1904.

Application filed January 25, 1904:, Serial No. 190,559. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL M. ELDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eldorado, in the county of Butler and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Brake Attachments; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to safety attachments for air-brake apparatus.

The object of the invention is to provide a safety attachment for air brake apparatus whereby should the train or any of the cars or locomotive be derailed the air in the trainpipe will be automatically discharged and the brakes applied in full.

Another object isto provide a tripping device for releasing the air from the brake apparatus which will be simple, strong, and reliable and which may be operated when the train is going in either direction.

A further object is to provide means for preventing casual tripping of the device by snow-drifts or other obstructions.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 4

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a railway-car, showing the application of the invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal Vertical section through one of the car-trucks and a portion of the car, showing the arrangement of the tripping device. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken through the train-pipe in front of the discharge-cock. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the movable stop for the handle of the release-cock.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes the car. 2 denotes the wheels. 3 denotes the truck-frame in which the axles A of the wheels are journaled. These parts may be of the ordinary, or well-known construction.

The tripping device may be located at any suitable point beneath the car, but is preferably arranged on one or both of the trucks and between the wheels of the'same, as shown. In the construction of the tripping device I employ a transversely-disposed rock-shaft 5, arranged between the axles of the car-wheels, the ends of which are pivotally and loosely mounted in slots 5, formed in the side pieces of the truck-frame 3.

On the shaft 5 are secured downwardly-projecting trip lugs or levers 6, which may be of any suitable form, but which are here shown as segmental blocks which project downwardly to within a slight distance of the tracks. On the upper ends of the segmental blocks are formed upwardly-projecting studs or pins 7 which are adapted to engage the lower ends of coiled springs 8, the upper ends of which are secured to the cross-bolster 9 of the truckframe,said bolster being here shown as formed of channel-iron, which forms a housing and protection for the springs 8.

On the shaft 5 is fixed an upwardly-projecting double lever 10, the arms of which project laterally from the shaft 5 and then extend upwardly on each side of the bolster and are connected together at their upper ends by a bail 12, in Which is formed an eye 18, to which is connected the end of a chain, cable, or

jointed rod 14, which passes through one or i more guide-pulleys 15, secured to the under side of the car. The opposite end of the chain, cable, or rod 14 is connected to an arm 16, secured to the handle of a release-cock 17, which is coupled into the train-pipe 18 at any suitable point along its length.

A pivoted stop 19 is arranged in the path of movement of the arm 16 on the handle of the cook 17 so that when said arm has been turned to fully open said cook it will strike said stop and prevent the further movement of the handle. If, however, it is desired to prevent the opening of the cook, the pivoted stop 19 is swung back out of the path of the 9;,

arm 16 on the handle of the cock, so that the same may be turned all the way round into its opposite closed position, in which it will not be aifected by the tripping device. This arrangement of the parts may be sometimes IOO necessary when running through snow-drifts, which would actuate the tripping device and continually open the valve, andthereby apply the brakes.

The stop 19 may be of any suitable construction, but is here shown as formed of a rod bent upon itself to form an arm or lug 20, the ends of the rod being secured to rings or bands 21,which are loosely engaged with the trainpipe at each side of its connection with the release-valve, as shown. When the arm 20 is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4, it will be in the path of the arm 16 on the release-cock handle and will limit the movement of said handle beyond a full-release position; but when the arm 20 is turned to the position shown in dotted lines the arm 16 and the handle of the release-cock may be turned all the way round to its opposite cut-off position, in which it will not be affected by the tripping device. The full-release position of the arm 16 is shown in Fig. 4 in dotted lines.

On the lower edges of the sides of the trucks adjacent to the segmental blocks 6 are secured guards 22, which protect the blocks from snow and other obstructions which might interfere with and prematurely trip the same.

While the springs 8 are shown and described as coiled springs, it is obvious that they may be of any other construction suitable to the purpose for which they are used.

While the tripping device is shown and described as located between the wheels of the car-truck, it will be understood that the same may be applied to any suitable portion of the car and that the same are applicable not only to railway-cars, but to other cars provided with fluid-pressure or any automatically-applied brakes.

In operation should a car equipped with the tripping device hereinbefore described become derailed from any cause the segmental levers or blocks 6 would strike the rails or ties and the movement of the car when going in either direction would rock the same'and the shaft 5, causing the lever 10 to draw upon the chain, cable, or rod 14, causing the same to turn the handle of the valve to an open position, thereby discharging the air from the train-pipe and applying the brakes. The slotted connection of the ends of the shaft 5 with the side pieces of the truck-frame permits said shaft to give when coming into contact with the rails or ties, thereby preventing the same from being broken. The springs 8, connecting the upper ends of the segmental blocks 6 with the bolster 9, prevent jarring from the sudden drop of the car and also hold said blocks sufficiently rigid to prevent their being rocked by slight obstructions with which they might come into contact.

It will be seen that by arranging the chain, cable, or rod over the guide-pulleys, as herein shown, the handle of the release-cock will be turned no matter which way the segmental blocks 6 and the lever 10 may be rocked" or in which direction the car may be moving.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, What 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with the airpipe of a braking apparatus of a car, of a rock-shaft supported by said car, trip levers or lugs secured to said shaft, an operating-lever also secured to said shaft, and means whereby said lever is connected to the braking mechanism of the car to actuate the same and apply the brakes, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the braking apparatus of a car, of a rock-shaft having a pivotal and vertically-slidable connection, with the truck-frame of said car, downwardly-projecting trip elements secured to said shaft, buffer-springs arranged on said trip elements, an upwardly-projecting operating-lever secured to said shaft, and a flexible connection secured at one end to said lever and passing through guide-pulleys to the controlling de vice of the braking mechanism, whereby upon the movement of said lever in either direction said controlling device will be actuated to cause the brakes to be applied, substantially as described.

3. The combination with the train-pipe of a car, of a rock-shaft having a pivotal and vertically-slidable connection, with the truckframe of said car, downwardly-projecting segmental lugs secured to said shaft, springs arranged on said lugs, an operating-lever secured to said shaft, release-cock arranged in said train-pipe, an arm or extension secured to the handle of said cook, a flexible connection between the said arm and the end of said operating-lever, whereby upon the movement of said lever in either direction said arm will be turned to open said release-cock, and means for stopping the movement of said arm when said cock is in full-open position, substantially as described.

4. The combination with the train-pipe of a car, of a rock-shaft having a pivotal and vertically-slidable connection, with the truckframe of said car, downwardly-projecting segmental lugs secured to said shaft, springs arranged on said lugs, an operating-lever secured to said shaft, a release-cock arranged in said train-pipe, an arm or extension secured to the handle of said cook, a flexible connection between the said arm and the end of said operating-lever, whereby upon the movement of said lever in either direction said arm will be turned. to open said releasecock, a stop adapted to be moved into and out of the path of movement of said arm, and

which will, prevent movement of the latter beyond the full-open position of said cock, when moved in the path of said arm, and guards arranged to protect said trip-lugs and 

